PeteJ

Like all Air Force pilots of the era, T-38 was the fastest. Loved that bird. From there went to KC-135A's -- Big jets

Spent a year in Del Rio learning to fly fast jets. The road house was a part of that experience. A platter of steaks, a dish of jalapenos and some cold Lone Stars with fellow pilots. It didn't get much better than that!

It wouldn't be a trip to Texas without a good old fashion Texas Road house/steak house. The more local the better.

I have used Evercoat glazing putty for years but it has a couple of issues. First you have to buy large quantities and second, over time it gets thicker and harder to get out of the container. I recently found this in a pouch and really like it much better. First off, it is about the viscosity of a milk shake coming out of the container so it fills small spaces very well. Second being in a pouch, it seems to store well and not thicken like the other stuff. It is a two part so you do have to mix it. I use a 4"X4" ceramic counter tile to mix it on. It won't stick to tile so it is easy to clean off. It hardens quite quickly so you can get on with the work. Depending on the amount of hardener you put it it you have about a 5 minute open time. It is sandable in less than 30 minutes. It feathers out very nicely and fill spots don't ghost back through even when using lacquers. Last, it is about $15 for 12 oz. which is a lifetime supply. Oh and if you do get it, one thing I have learned. Put the catalyst in a glass jar. Over time the catalyst will cause the plastic tube it comes in to harden and crack. The old small square model enamel bottles are about the right size for one tube. You can get it on Amazon but because it is flammable the shipping kills the cost. One last thing, you have to go to a professional auto paint store to find it. It is ok for me because I get a lot of stuff for modeling there.

I have on very specific use for the box once the model is built. I cut the top off, write the date on it and post it on my shop wall. It is my informal history of my builds. Other than that the only reason I would care about the box is if it is doing its job of storing the model. Pristine or damage makes little difference to me. I am a builder, not a collector.

Len, thanks for the info. I am sorry to hear this. It sounds like a great place but like so much, the passing of the founder brings everything crashing down.

Len, I was just reading an unrelated story about San Marcos and they mentioned an attraction that I thing would be great tour for the auto guys. Apparently there is a place called Dick's Classic Car Garage not far from the venue. It does offer tours and I think it would be great to have a "Civilian vehicle" a tour. You may also contact them to see if they might be willing to sponsor some of the car categories. This is an opportunity to show that IPMS is more than Military modelers.

Just got the Tamiya engraving set. Stupid expensive at $30.00 a blade, but far and away the best panel line engraver I own and that is saying a lot. I have a drawer full of panel line scribes. The difference is that these give you a flat bottom with square sides and no ridges on the top. They are so expensive because they are tungsten carbide and are very sharp. Don't bother buying the special handle for them. They fit in a pin vice with the proper collet. I use my large Tamiya pin vice and really like it because it has a decent diameter and with the knurling it is easy to control the angle of the blade. As to the cost, well they are $30 from Tamiya but if you shop around and buy them all together(so you only pay one shipping fee) and they can be had for less than half that. Oh and although my photo shows all 4 blades they are only sold individually and each one comes with the case for all of them. Not sure why but that is the way it is.

This is a difficult category to address and I would contend that a Juniors category should be judged in a different way from adult categories, after all there is a difference in intent. By that I mean the we are trying to encourage youth to share our hobby. Limiting awards to 1,2,3 may be counterproductive as it singles out only a few. We need to make the experience positive for the kids that come. In a youth category perhaps we need to use a GSB method with comments on all models. Not all models need to get awards, but every model should have comments about what each modeler did well. Forget the negatives, but definitely find something positive to say about the model even it it is only the choice of color. A pat on the back would go a lot further for all entrants than singling out three kids for awards.

Oh yea! A foodie tour! Love open pit BBQ Texas style. Every time I am in Dallas I have to go to Hard 8. I am sure that the Austin/San Marcos/San Antonio area has many that are of the same quality. Please do a tour!

Since you are just getting started, I am not sure what is there still, but I would like to see a tour of the Randolph, Kelly, Lackland complex. I spent a lot of time there and would like to see it again.

Ok, admit it. I am in the final thrash to get the models done before I leave for Phoenix on Tuesday! It is 11 pm on the west coast and I figure I will do about another 2 hours and then knock off until tomorrow morning. So who else is in the same final frenzy? 🙄😓

Primary difference between the T-38/F-5 seat and the MB in the F-4 was that the parachute was part of the MB seat. You had to lug the parachute with you to the T-38/F-5. You put it on before you mounted the cockpit and it served as parachute/back cushion. I remember hauling them around in pilot training. I was much younger and fitter then! 😉 In the F-4 you just wore a harness and hooked it up to the seat after you got in.

What amazes me about MCM is that the web site is going gangbusters. They get more posts in an hour than this site gets in two days. Literally hundreds of posts a day. Obviously, Gregg would be far better off going digital with the magazine and monetizing the website. If he just charged $1 a year he would make far more that he can with the magazine. I know modelers are inherently cheap but a few bucks to use something that they already use would probably not cause a lot of people to drop out.

Mark, if there are no entries, than anything you have would be "contest worthy" 😄

Thanks, that's all I wanted to know. It todays world of e-commerce, I have somewhat become accustomed to multiple follow up emails when purchasing something. If that is the process then I'm good with it. Not trying to make extra work for anyone. Thank you.

Sorry to start a new thread for this but I didn't get a reply yet on the registration thread. I have registered electronically and was wondering two things. Will I get any confirmation, either electronic or hard copy, other than my receipt from the web site or paypal? Second, is there any way I can confirm my personal information on that registration? Thanks

I've registered all ready but being an old guy, I was wondering if I will receive any paper or electronic confirmation of registration/banquet/t-shirt other then the receipt from the shopping cart?

Yup, me too Gil. MBP(Models By Pete) is in my own single car garage.

I'm with you Gil. I really am not fond of any paint fumes, but if I had to choose one it is the alcohol based ones. My family is full of people who work in hospitals and I associate the smell of alcohol with visiting them in their work place. Unfortunately, over the years I have "sniffed" a fair amount of paint fumes and have kind of become "nose blind" to them. I know because when I am sitting in my shop, oblivious to the smell and my wife comes out and comments on the strong odor of paint.

Rick, just make sure to pressure relieve the box. A couple of very small holes drilled through will do the job. Somewhere between a 60 and a 70 wire gauge drill bit and a pin vise with do the job.

I am driving as I did the last time Nat's were in Phoenix. Flying actually takes longer. By the time I factor in the time to get to the airport, check in, go through TSA, wait to board, fly, disembark, wait for luggage, go to the the auto rental counter or wait for the shuttle and drive to the airport, it takes close to 6 hours. Not to mention the $700 for rental car and airline ticket. I can drive from San Diego in about five and a half hours for the cost of one tank of gas and I don't have the cost of a rental car or wait for a cranky shuttle driver. Yup, I'll drive.

I am always baffled with how much space our hobby requires but how truely little of that space we actually use for building. Most of us only really use about two square feet for the activity. The rest seems to be storage.

Not sure the powders are available any more. There have been several, but none of them lasted on the market very long. They seem to be either toxic or flammable or both. Pure speculation but I suspect that they are aluminum powder based which is actually quite dangerous to your health and wellbeing. Most of us use either Bare Metal Foil or paints(Alclad being one of the brands). There are also aftermarket plating services. A little research on Youtube will give you several tutorials on how to use either.

...or you could strip it, clean up all the seams and sink marks and use Bare Metal foil on it. I actually like this better than any kit chrome or paint. You and also handle it pretty easily without worrying about fingerprints.